A rehabilitation center in Israel expressed concern over the increased number of Israelis who have committed suicide or are on the verge of committing the act under the pressure of their bad economic and living situation.

"The self-immolation of Moshe Silman, the Israeli protestor, in a demonstration in Tel Aviv faced Israel with a tsunami of suicide," Manager of one of the psychological rehabilitation centers in Israel Lydia Sila' told the Israeli TV.

She said that the number of people who have called the rehabilitation center in recent days and have threatened to commit suicide in protest at their bad economic situation has drastically increased and become a source of grave worry.

Israel's police said on Friday, July 20, a 4th Israeli in recent days has set himself on fire after falling on hard times. Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a man in his late 40s set himself ablaze last Sunday near a bus stop in central Israel. Onlookers tried to extinguish the flames. He was rushed to the hospital with severe burns.

The man's brother told Israeli media he faced large debts and warned his family he would follow in the footsteps of Moshe Silman, who set himself on fire at a protest against Israel's high cost of living last week. Silman later died of his wounds.

Cases of self-immolation are increasing in Israel, and Rosenfeld said four Israelis have attempted or threatened it since Silman's act.

Batela Shahar of Jerusalem, a widowed mother of five who said she has lived on public assistance for 30 years, said "Silman's story is something that could happen to any of us." "While I am a mother and can't let myself go like Silman did, I can totally understand how it came to that," she said.

On Sunday, a 5th victim who was a 50-year-old disabled IDF veteran had also set himself on fire in Yehud and was in serious condition with burns over 80 percent of his body.